The black curtain of the sky faded, beginning to glow faintly. I lay on the ground, quietly watching the dense swarm of small robots around me—there were too many to count now. All of these were made from the lower-quality Forsaken.
Overnight, the number of Forsaken in the forest dropped by more than half. Fewer than 500 remain, and with a bit more effort, in two or three days they can all be transformed into robots.
So many days have passed, and there are no more footholds left anywhere else in this world. Yet 006 and 009 are still nowhere to be seen, which leaves me puzzled.
“Ethan, go rest for a while.”
I nodded and stood up, stretching lazily. The Forsaken wouldn’t wake up before sunrise, so I floated straight up to the city wall. Just then, the door of the house beside me opened, and Rachel Lan came out, rubbing her eyes.
“Good morning, Ethan. Thank you for your hard work.”
I shook my head and pointed at the house.
“I’m going to sleep for a bit.”
Then I glanced into the house.
“Where’s Sylvia?”
Rachel Lan squinted and smiled, softly closing the door and gently walking over.
"Still sleeping. You go rest quickly, Ethan Zhang."
I responded with a hum, but I was still somewhat worried.
"Rachel Lan, have you established contact with the Saints yet?"
Rachel Lan shook her head slightly. Smiling, I pressed one hand gently to the side of her forehead.
"It's alright. There's still plenty of time."
The sound of rushing water was now audible. The black streams that had crossed the mountains poured down the steep slopes and had already flowed into the bottom of the deep trench in front of the city wall. The water level continued to rise, and in a few days, it would reach the base of the wall.
"You've done so much already. That's enough. Go get some sleep—leave the rest to me."
001 had already come out. She looked in disbelief at the robots piled along the edge of the remaining dead forest in the distance. Then she raised her hand; with a series of creaks, the robots began to transform, extending their legs and slowly walking toward us.
"Go on, Ethan Zhang."
Rachel Lan gave me a gentle push. I entered the house, and as I lay down on the bed, the doors and windows suddenly vanished. The outside noise ceased instantly—001 was surprisingly thoughtful. I closed my eyes and quickly drifted off to sleep, feeling relaxed.
A slight shaking woke me. Harsh sunlight streamed through the window, and Rachel Lan was beside me, wringing out a towel.
"Ethan Zhang, wash your face and get up. It's already afternoon."
I hummed in response and got up. After washing my face with cold water, I felt much more awake.
After leaving the house, I immediately widened my eyes—the Forsaken were lined up along the city wall, stretching all the way around it.
"Each unit is spaced about 10 to 12 meters apart, just barely enough to encircle the entire forest. There are 964 units in total."
Now I noticed that even more of the remaining trees behind me had disappeared, replaced by three platforms taller than the city wall, arranged in a triangle.
"What are those?"
I asked, and 007 explained.
"There are only three high-quality Forsaken left in this forest. Tomorrow night, you'll need to transform these three into large robots. The rest will be medium-sized—there should be fewer than 300 left."
I hummed in response.
"It should be doable in one night. By the way, why haven't we seen any sign of 006 and 009?"
I asked, and 007 looked worriedly at the distant black sun, shaking their head.
"All we know is they're still alive, but we have no idea why they haven't come. Oh, Ethan Zhang, when the Mimics appear, you three will handle the front. I'll take the left side with 005, 004 will handle the right, and 001 will cover the rear. That's the best arrangement, but we can't act unless absolutely necessary. As for you, it'll probably be tough."
I nodded.
"It's fine."
As we spoke, I walked to the edge of the city wall and looked down. I swallowed hard—the water level had risen at least twenty meters in just a few hours. At this rate, it would soon reach us, and the black clouds overhead were pressing down over the trench.
It was a strange sight—blue sky and white clouds above us, but thick black clouds all around.
"Rachel Lan, where are you going?"
I watched as Rachel Lan ran down a staircase.
"I'm going to the forest."
I acknowledged, and 007 smiled as they spoke.
"The forest is relatively quiet. Rachel Lan intends to reestablish contact with the Saints there."
This was the urgent issue that needed solving—to secure the passage. Suddenly, 007's expression changed dramatically and they floated up immediately.
"I'll leave this to you for now, Ethan Zhang. I'm going to the left side."
As 007 spoke, they left. I looked down just in time to see bubbles rising from the black water below. Suddenly, jets of black water erupted about two hundred meters away. The streams coalesced in midair, forming humanoid shapes, which then transformed into armored monsters with mosquito-like wings flying toward us.
Instantly, a series of creaks echoed along the city wall—001 had already implanted commands into the robots via telepathy. Red lights began to glow in sequence along the wall.
There were indeed many of them. In an instant, the black monsters formed a swarm and flew toward us.
I realized what was happening and was about to cover my ears when a piercing noise erupted all around. Blinding white lasers shot out like a sudden downpour.
A cacophony of sizzling sounds followed. Instantly, the curse-powered monsters were riddled with holes and quickly evaporated in midair.
I swallowed hard. It worked—such a large area, and now only a few remain. The mass of black dots that had appeared around the Devouring Forest was nearly gone. I glanced at the black water in the trench below; the water level had dropped.
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I was certain I hadn't seen wrong—the water level had indeed dropped. I smiled with relief as the laser-woven firepower net instantly shredded most of the Forsaken.
Gradually, not a single Forsaken remained flying in the air. Under the sunlight, the robots started recharging again. Although their power was weaker at night, they could absorb moonlight—and fortunately, this night had not just moonlight but starlight as well.
"The second wave is coming."
I muttered, but something was clearly off. On the black water's surface, a bulging mass appeared, and the water on both sides was visibly moving.
With a boom, the bulging mass exploded. I saw black energy rise into the air—a figure over two meters tall, clad in black armor, identical to the one that had chased 007 before. Its crimson eyes stared at us, and I immediately became alert. A rush of air swept under my feet, lifting me up.
In an instant, the figure charged the city wall. Every turret in range targeted it, unleashing a barrage of lasers that formed a blinding web of white light.
Just as I was about to move, I sensed an aura. Amid the white light, a streak of black appeared. With a boom, the figure leaped onto the city wall. In an instant, it hurled its spear to the right—two robots were destroyed at once, but instead of vanishing, they slowly disintegrated into black particles, drifting into the air.
"Stay out of my way."
With a whoosh, the figure was suddenly right in front of me, moving incredibly fast. The nearby robots had expended all their energy and were now recharging, their turrets slowly turning toward me.
"Who are you?"
I asked. Suddenly, the figure pressed a hand to my forehead—a suffocating chill seeped into my body, and black curse energy crawled across my cheeks.
"Take your hand off me."
I said coldly, pressing down on the figure's right hand. Its crimson eyes showed surprise as tortoise-shell patterns appeared on my cheeks, instantly blocking out the chill.
With two swift slashes, twin wind blades severed the figure's hand into three pieces. I pressed my palm to its chest, gathering a surge of air in my right hand.
With a boom, a transparent current exploded, hurling the black figure far away. White streams of energy surged over its body as I chased after it.
I had only one thought: I had to get this thing away from the city wall. It had already destroyed two units—I was far too careless.
Twin currents trembled in my hands, like swords. The figure's chest armor caved in, shattering outward.
With two swift slashes, the wind blades in my hands cut the figure into four pieces. There was a hint of amusement in its eyes.
"Nothing can change this. The world should have died long ago."
"Who are you?"
I asked again. With a chilling, sinister laugh, the figure evaporated in midair. I glanced at the water below—nothing was happening now, and the Mimics hadn't appeared.
"What's going on?"
Behind me, I heard 001's slightly angry voice. I drifted back slowly, shaking my head.
"Sorry, that was careless of me."
007 and 004 hurried over as well. The battle was temporarily over, but the result was clear—if those things are destroyed by the Mimics, they'll be devoured and converted into curse energy.